Posts Tagged: voting
Voting Obstacles Then and Now
Social media outlets have become major instruments to explore people’s deepest thoughts during this election cycle. Many people, some of them trolls, utilize social media as a mic to air out personal feelings about the election, whether they are positive or negative (which most of them are). Throughout the election cycle, there have been discuss over the voting obstacles that various groups of people face across the nation. One thing that has stood out is the idea of voter suppression among people of color and other members of marginalized groups. Concepts, such as this one, are quite familiar, especially during the start of the Jim Crow era where black men were granted the right to vote through the passage of the 15th amendment. However, we all know that just because a law says… Read more »
Is POTUS the most important election tomorrow?
Tomorrow is the Big Day! The final day for US voters to cast ballots for the 2016 election. While the hype around the elections has reached and sustained a fever-pitch in the mainstream media, many young and marginalized communities still feel…uninspired. Fear not, I am here to inspire you! *charm bomb explodes* There are 101 reasons you should go and vote tomorrow and they are spelled: down ballot races. Wtf is a down ballot race? “Down ballot” refers to the elections listed near the end of the ballot; in other words, the last few elections/names/propositions listed on your ballot. In even more words: the races at the bottom of the ballot-list. Typically, ballots are organized with the most “senior” elected positions listed at the top, such as federal elections like… Read more »
Sooner Rather than Later: Your Guide to Early Voting
The horse is dead. It has not only been beaten to death but rather beaten, revived, and then beaten again. And that horse is people telling you to vote. Yet, even though the horse no longer exists it leaves in its afterlife a new horse, early voting. While the feeling of voting on the ever-exciting Election Day can perhaps never be replicated it is important to acknowledge the many downfalls to waiting until November 8th to vote. There are always the possible accidental flat tires or sick days which could prevent you from voting but there are also the possible restrictions imposed by nasty voter id laws that could impact you on the big day. Nothing would be more annoying and possibly devastating than standing in the huge lines at… Read more »
Political Representation or the Lack Thereof
Hillary Clinton, Ben Carson, Bobby Jindal, and Carly Fiorina are the only people running for a presidential nomination who are not white men.* That’s 4 of 21. That’s 19%. There are 2 women running for president. That’s not even 10%. A recent photo series by British Elle awesomely illustrates the gender disparity in politics by taking pictures from different political happenings and taking all the men out. So often I hear people asking why it’s taking too long to make long term change in how our country deals with racism and sexism. I just want to show people these numbers. White men seem to continue benefit under the laws because they are the ones writing the laws. They wouldn’t even consider passing laws banning erectile dysfunction medication under the same… Read more »
Alabama Continues to Make it Harder to Vote
Thinking of voting in the state of Alabama? Better have a photo ID. And if Governor Robert Bentley has his way, the Alabama Black Belt might find soon be devoid of Driver’s License Offices altogether. In the aftermath of Alabama’s recent budget debate, which carried such controversial decisions as shuffling money from education to fund the prison system and raising taxes on things such as cigarettes, pharmaceuticals and retirement homes, Bentley decided that the worst possible thing he could do would be to raise any direct taxes, especially the state’s extremely low property tax. As a trade-off, Bentley plans to close a number of state parks, something that had been discussed at great length during the budget gridlock earlier this year, as well as 31 driver’s license offices (all conveniently located… Read more »
3 Reasons Why Voting Rights are a Reproductive Justice Issue
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. The Voting Rights Act (VRA) was enacted in order to prohibit election regulations that would prohibit anyone from voting due to their race. A very important part of the act required jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting to get federal approval for any changes in their electoral laws and regulations before they can take effect. In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States gutted the VRA by removing the requirement that applied to jurisdictions with a history of discrimination. In 2014, a bipartisan group of legislators introduced legislation to help strengthen the VRA. This legislation is incredibly important especially as we see voter disenfranchisement laws increasing. By restricting the right to vote – from… Read more »
The 2014 Election: Your How-To Guide
Happy Election Day, folks! It’s time to head to the polls and do your civic duty for the good ol’ U S of A. If you weren’t planning on voting, we explain a little more why it’s so important that young people vote. If you’re still a little unsure, or maybe you’ve already decided to vote, we detail just how easy it is. Make sure to share this with your friends, family and peers to spread the word: our votes matter, but in order for them to actually make an impact, we need to actually vote! Why you should vote? But I really don’t care… I don’t have to vote, right? Millennials often get a bad reputation for being “lazy” and “uncaring.” Older generations love to say that we’re apathetic… Read more »
How I Went From An Uninformed Voter to a Voter Deputy
National Voter Registration Day was this past Tuesday and with the last day to register to vote being October 6th, that means that getting yourself registered is more crucial than ever. I’ve never really considered myself a political person. I voted in my first election back in 2012 when President Obama was re-elected, but when I went to the ballot box the only candidates I knew anything about were the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates. I don’t even remember the other candidates I voted for. I was 18 and I was an uniformed voter, but I was still exercising my right. Two years later, and now in my third year of college I’ve become a lot more active on campus. Through my campus’s feminist student organization I’ve learned the intricacies of… Read more »
“The War On Voting” comes to Ohio
On Wednesday, February 19th, Ohio legislatures passed Senate Bill 238 and Senate Bill 205. SB 238 “would reduce the number of absentee-voting days by six — from the current 35 days before an election down to 29 days before an election. (Absentee ballots for men and women in the armed forces and for overseas voters would continue to be available 45 days before an election.)” SB 205 “would forbid any public official except Ohio’s secretary of state from mailing out unsolicited applications for absentee ballots.” Governor Kasich has signed both. Instead of 35 days, Ohioans now have 29 days to cast a ballot before an election. 29 days is not bad. Some states don’t allow that much. True. But that doesn’t make SB 238 any less terrible. The right to… Read more »
Why Ohio Needs to Keep Golden Week
Ah, yes, as an Ohioan, I’ll never forget the first Election season and Golden Week where I could legally vote. What a magical time, literally full of giant buses and go-karts on my campus shipping us off to the polls and college students clutching their voter registration forms on clipboards. We were all fresh-faced from a candidate visit and ready to engage our fellow students about voting. You see, voting in Ohio is really funny. That’s if you find constant 24/7 political advertisements hysterical, or you somehow find it amusing that candidates from both sides of the fence practically live here from all of the visits (with both the Obama and Romney family visiting each 30 times in four months). Ohio is also famous for Golden Week. So what exactly… Read more »
